Rafter survives Russian assault



03 July 01

Daily Telegraph

PAT Rafter's Wimbledon title hopes remain safely intact after the dual US Open winner yesterday weathered a frenzied opening-set storm from Russian teenager Mikhail Youzhny to reach the All-England Club quarter-finals.

Third-seeded Rafter overcame a tense start and Youzhny's rifled passing shots to move into the last eight with a demanding 2-6 6-3 6-2 7-5 victory over one of the brightest young talents in the game.

Former world No.1 Rafter's triumph -- as much mental as physical -- propelled the Bermuda-based Queenslander into a quarter-final clash with Swedish 10th seed Thomas Enqvist, who has fallen victim to Rafter six times in eight matches.

Enqvist, thrashed by Rafter two years ago at Wimbledon, eliminated Argentine Guillermo Canas 6-3 6-3 6-1 and will tomorrow attempt to block the Australian's path towards a third consecutive semi-final appearance.

Ragged on serve during the first set, Rafter regrouped brilliantly to frustrate Youzhny with an outstanding, sustained serving display over the last three sets, not allowing his opponent a single break point.

The youngest man to reach the round of 16 this year, 19-year-old Youzhny hammered Rafter's serve from the outset to create two break points in the third game.

Drawing on his experience to survive, Rafter anxiously weathered the first storm but watched helplessly two games later as Youzhny pumped a blazing backhand winner down the line to break the Queenslander's serve.

Unsettled by the lapse, Rafter attempted to regroup in the seventh game and moved convincingly to 40-15 -- and then lost the next four points as Youzhny ran riot off his favoured backhand wing to snatch a double break with glorious passing.

But if there was panic in the grandstands, there was none on Rafter's behalf.

Still unable to puncture Youzhny's soaring confidence, Rafter simply chipped away at the inexperienced Muscovite.

Contesting just the fourth grasscourt event of his short career, Youzhny was ultimately trounced by a high-class professional, who now boasts 71 victories from 95 matches on grass -- 20 of which have combined to deliver Rafter four of his 10 career titles.

In the face of ultimately insurmountable odds, 85th-ranked Youzhny did well to detain Rafter for so long.

Rafter's delight on finally escaping the Russian after a 140-minute battle bespoke his satisfaction.

Rafter through; Hewitt crashes out.

Pat Rafter staged a fightback to make the quarter-finals at Wimbledon, but fellow Australian Lleyton Hewitt's run came to an end in the fourth round.
Third seed Rafter feared his Wimbledon campaign was about to be snuffed out before he recovered to defeat Russian Mikhail Youzhny 2-6 6-3 6-2 7-5, setting up a quarter-final with Swedish 10th seed Thomas Enqvist.
But Hewitt was not able to conjure a similar fightback against 38th-ranked Frenchman Nicolas Escude.
Having been short of his best form all tournament, Hewitt showed his usual amount of fight to come back in the fourth set, before Escude wrapped it up, 4-6 6-4 6-3 4-6 6-4, in three-and-a-half hours.
Hewitt had produced some tremendous tennis from the baseline to take the fourth set by breaking Escude's serve, to 15, in the 10th game.
But the lanky Frenchman started powerfully in the fifth, breaking Hewitt twice on the way to a 5-1 lead which withstood one last revival from the South Australian.
The defeat halted Hewitt's winning sequence at 13 matches -- earned by taking the Queen's and Rosmalen titles on grass leading up to Wimbledon -- and blotted his copybook on the surface this year with a first loss in 16 matches.
Many Hewitt watchers believed his heavy workload heading into the tournament explained why his form was not at its sparkling best.
The 20-year-old Hewitt also had to come through five sets against Taylor Dent in the second round, and four more in the third round against Moroccan Younes El Aynaoui, and was clearly wilting by the time today's match entered its fourth hour.
It is a fair bet he would have stood little chance in a quarter-final against second seed Andre Agassi, who has ominously kept himself fresh this tournament by not dropping a set so far.
Rafter, striving to better his runner's up finish at last year's tournament in what could be his last Wimbledon before retirement, found himself down and almost out after being blasted in the first set.
But the 28-year-old lifted appreciably from then onwards for a win which bolstered his confidence for the days ahead.
"He came out on fire," Rafter said.
"I thought I played alright in the first set, and I just got killed.
"I thought I was going home, I really did.
"I'm doing really well to figure out my matches at this stage.
"Today I took a few chances, and they worked well. My game plan started to come into play really well in the second set.
"I take it one match at a time but I do feel reasonably comfortable out there. I definitely give myself a 50/50 chance against whoever I'm playing. I guess I'm quietly confident."
Rafter said the turning point came for him when he broke Youzhny -- a 19-year-old ranked 85th to his 10th -- for the first time to lead 5-3 in the second set.
Significantly, Rafter had faced five break points in the first set, with Youzhny converting two of them, but was not down a break point again in the match.
His ratio of points won on his first serve climbed from a feeble 54 per cent in the first set to between 87 and 100 per cent in the next three, while Youzhny's fell progressively as the match wore on.
Rafter leads his next opponent Enqvist 6-2 in career meetings, including a straight sets win in the second round of Wimbledon two years ago, their only match on grass. Rafter also won their last encounter, on a hardcourt at the World Team Cup in Dusseldorf in May.
Former Australian Jelena Dokic recorded her worst Wimbledon result today when knocked out in the fourth round by Lindsay Davenport.
The 18-year-old Dokic, a quarter-finalist an semi-finalist at her only previous Wimbledons, succumbed to third seed Davenport 7-5 6-4 in a tight match on centre court in which the American's greater experience told the story at the key moments.

Rafter our only hope

From our wire sevrices

03 July 01

News Interactive

LONDON: Pat Rafter staged a fightback to make the quarter-finals at Wimbledon overnight but fellow Australian Lleyton Hewitt's run came to an end in the fourth round.

Third seed Rafter feared his Wimbledon campaign was about to be snuffed out before he recovered to defeat Russian Mikhail Youzhny 2-6 6-3 6-2 7-5, setting up a quarter-final with Swedish 10th seed Thomas Enqvist.

But Hewitt was not able to conjure a similar fightback against 38th-ranked Frenchman Nicolas Escude.

Having been short of his best form all tournament, Hewitt showed his usual amoung of fight to come back in the fourth set, before Escude wrapped it up, 4-6 6-4 6-3 4-6 6-4, in three-and-a-half hours The 25-year-old, who had not progressed beyond the second round here on two previous visits, will play Andre Agassi for a place in the last four.

It was a stunning upset for the 20-year-old Hewitt, who came into Wimbledon on a roll with back-to-back grasscourt titles at Queen's and Den Bosch including morale-boosting wins over Pete Sampras and Tim Henman.

Escude, in his third appearance at Wimbledon, started with few hopes having lost in the quarter-finals at Halle and pulling out of the Den Bosch tournament with a lower back injury in the second round.

"It was a tough match," said Escude, adding that he felt he would have his chances against Agassi in the quarter-finals.

"He has beaten me each time - at Basel and in the US Open quarter-final. But I have never played against him on grass.

"I have more chance to beat him on grass because it is not his favourite surface and I feel comfortable."

It was Hewitt, as expected, who took command in the first set which he won 6-4, but gradually the momentum swung in the second as the more aggressive style of the Frenchman had the Australian scampering from side to side.

Hewitt managed to level the sets in a desperately close fourth set as a large Australian contingent roared their approval and it all came down to the fifth.

Hewitt held serve in the opening game, but he was the one who was making the mistakes and Escude reeled off five games in a row with breaks in the third and fifth as his confidence soared.

In character, Hewitt refused to lie down and die and he hauled himself back to 5-4 down by breaking the Escude serve.

But in the next game, Escude was rock solid, moving to 40-0 by coming into the net and wrapping it up when Hewitt flayed a despairing forehand into the net.

Escude's previous best Grand Slam performance came in the 1998 Australian Open where he reached the semi-finals.

For Hewitt, there was the consolation that he has come on in leaps and bounds on grass in the last few weeks and he will undoutedly feature in future years.

"I just didn't feel comfortable at all out there. I served well, but did not feel comfortable with my ground strokes," he said, adding "I think my time is going to come."

Rafter, striving to better his runner's up finish at last year's tournament in what could be his last Wimbledon before retirement, found himself down and almost out after being blasted in the first set.

But the 28-year-old lifted appreciably from then onwards for a win which bolstered his confidence for the days ahead.

"He came out on fire," Rafter said.

"I thought I played alright in the first set, and I just got killed.

"I thought I was going home, I really did.

"I'm doing really well to figure out my matches at this stage.

"Today I took a few chances, and they worked well. My game plan started to come into play really well in the second set.

"I take it one match at a time but I do feel reasonably comfortable out there. I definitely give myself a 50-50 chance against whoever I'm playing. I guess I'm quietly confident."

Rafter said the turning point came for him when he broke Youzhny - a 19-year-old ranked 85th to his 10th - for the first time to lead 5-3 in the second set.

Significantly, Rafter had faced five break points in the first set, with Youzhny converting two of them, but was not down a break point again in the match.

His ratio of points won on his first serve climbed from a feeble 54 per cent in the first set to between 87 and 100 percent in the next three, while Youzhny's fell progressively as the match wore on.

Rafter leads his next opponent Enqvist 6-2 in career meetings, including a straight sets win in the second round of Wimbledon two years ago, their only match on grass. Rafter also won their last encounter, on a hardcourt at the World Team Cup in Dusseldorf in May.
The mark of a champion leaving tennis at top of his game 

Sydney Morning Herald July 3, 2001

Throughout the early rounds of Wimbledon, Pat Rafter played his cavalier, almost extinct brand of serve-volley tennis with the quiet joy and unremitting good humour that were a constant reminder of why - together with a face and physique that score highly on the hunk-o-meter - he is one of the most popular sportsmen in the world. So won't it be great to see him go?

Yes, Rafter will be missed when he begins a six-month sabbatical, after leading Australia to a Davis Cup win in Melbourne in December, if the tennis Gods are in the right frame of mind. But isn't it refreshing to see a man so confident in his conviction and secure about his place in history that he can do what we presumptuously demand of other sportsmen - leave at the top of his game?

Many will disagree. After all, we have painted ourselves into a corner when we consider the timing of a champion athlete's retirement.

We cringe at the sight of another punch-drunk boxer making one comeback too many or a batsman whose reflexes have dulled. Time to go, we say. Don't diminish yourself. Don't embarrass us.

Yet, when we see 29-year-old Rafter charge to the net behind a clever, chipped approach, we cry for more. We want him to stay until his shoulder aches so badly that he can no longer make his second serve spit up off the grass like a Glenn McGrath bouncer. We won't be happy until the well has run dry.

We don't want to know that it takes Rafter an hour longer than most to make it to the interview room after a match because he is applying ice to that shoulder. We don't want to listen when he says he has become too tired and distracted to do what is required to perform on the biggest stages.

We want to see him performing heroics at Melbourne Park and Wimbledon. We don't want to know about the ditches he digs working the baseline of some distant practice court.

When Rafter announced his plans in January, we feared he had created a rod for his back because he would be dogged by the same question - "Why Pat?" - at every tour stop. However, apart from his breathtaking and ultimately enervating run to the semi-finals of the Australian Open, indifferent form has removed some of the mystery from the decision.

It was not until Rafter returned to the scene of last year's triumph - his unforgettable Wimbledon semi-final victory over Andre Agassi, not his self-confessed choke in the final against Pete Sampras - that it occurred to many observers what we stand to lose. A sportsman of rare ability and almost antique demeanour.

Yet, only Davis Cup captain John Fitzgerald should be entitled to feel cheated. He has to convince Mark Philippoussis to take Rafter's place. The rest of us should applaud an athlete who has survived a mind-altering sport with his perspective intact.

Perhaps that clear vision comes from being merely the most famous member of a large family. Or because Rafter did not experience success until relatively late in his career.

In the past few years, we have watched Agassi straining to extract the last few major titles from his incredible game. Only by doing that can the former child prodigy leave the sport having fulfilled his early promise. When Rafter was 20 he did not have half the expectations Agassi held in kindergarten. Two US Open titles are a bonus, not a birthright.

Aside from some premature expectations created by a success-starved Australian media, fame and prosperity have grown on Rafter. He enjoys them, but does not pursue them relentlessly. He will be remembered as a player who was better than his record indicates, not one who let himself down by failing to win more.

Comfortable that he has extracted as much from himself as he could, and more riches from the game than he had ever dreamed, Rafter answers questions about life after tennis like a man who has won the lottery and won't be turning up to work on Monday morning.

Will he coach like Pat Cash? "I certainly hope not," he says.

Nor is he interested in television commentary and other such pursuits with which former champions can keep themselves busy, long after they have left the game.

You will more likely find him lying on the beach or playing with a local cricket team and not feeling a speck of remorse. He doesn't owe it to tennis to play on any more than a lottery winner owes it to accountancy or waitressing to keep punching the clock.

Rafter's retirement will cause sadness because, the chances are, we will not produce a tennis player of his grace and popularity for some time. But, even as he continues to display an ability that seems to make a mockery of his decision, we should applaud an athlete who knew when the time was right for him.

END
Hewitt: Pat can do it

FOX Sports 03 July 01

News Interactive

LONDON: Lleyton Hewitt says Davis Cup team-mate Pat Rafter is on track to become Australia's first Wimbledon singles champion in 14 years.
Hewitt believes the combination of a helpful draw, Pete Sampras' shock defeat and Rafter's own grasscourt skill and motivation level in possibly his last campaign, point to a popular and emotional victory on Sunday.

While 20-year-old Hewitt acknowledged he had more learning to do before winning a grand slam after his fourth round loss to Nicolas Escude today, Rafter used his wealth of experience to calmly bring a difficult match under control against Mikhail Youzhny.

Rafter began to hit top form for the first time in the tournament after being blown away in the first set and tamed the impressive Russian teenager 2-6 6-3 6-2 7-5.

"I suppose it's a bit with the heart as well ... but I think Pat's got a big chance," said Hewitt who noted Rafter had not wasted a lot of energy in dropping only two sets along his way to the quarter-finals.

"I think we all realise how close he was last year. He was a couple of points away from holding up the trophy. He wants it.

"He's struggled a little bit so far, but the draw's opening up nicely for him."

With seven-time champion Pete Sampras - Rafter's conqueror in the 20000 final - toppled by Switzerland's Roger Federer on the other side of the draw, the biggest stumbling in Rafter's path appears to a rampaging Andre Agassi.

They are on course for a repeat of last year's epic semi-final, where Rafter would definitely need to improve dramatically on his poor conversion rate of breakpoints achieved against Youzhny.

First Rafter must get past 10th seed Thomas Enqvist but he holds a 5-2 record against the Swede, including a straight sets win in the second round here two years ago.

"Thomas has a very good first serve, and quite a good second serve. He's very aggressive, with it," said Rafter.

"But probably Thomas' biggest weakness is his movement. He's a big man. Grass is a difficult surface at the best of times to move on. We all find it tough to move on grass and Thomas does as well.

"But a guy that hits it that hard, sometimes you can't make him run."

Should he make the final, Rafter's opponent would come from the interesting but not unbeatable mix of three-time finallist Goran Ivanisevic, US Open champion Marat Safin, youngster Federer, British hope Tim Henman or veteran Todd Martin.

Rafter said his confidence was on the rise with his game lifting after struggling early against Youzhny to the point where he "thought I was going home".

"I think I'm doing really well to figure out my matches at this stage," said Rafter.

"When you find yourself in trouble is when you're trying to figure out matches, and you can't.

"Today, I took a few chances and they worked well. My game plan started to come into play really well in the second set.

"If he was able to counteract that, then I was in trouble.

"But I feel my game is pretty close. I'm getting better and better with each match.

"I do feel comfortable out there. I definitely give myself a 50/50 chance against whoever I'm playing.

"I guess I'm quietly confident."

END
Our Pat and Lleyton, a born-again Damir and the Teletubbies ... it's awesome 
Date: 02/07/2001



By Richard Hinds

When you write about sports for food there are things you come to dread. At tennis tournaments they include Thomas Enqvist press conferences, pretty much anyone with a child playing the tour, Pat Rafter's latest outfit and upsets in the first week of grand slams.

You fear upsets because they come at a heavy price. If plucky Brit Barry Cowan had caused one of the greatest boilovers in Wimbledon history by beating Pete Sampras this year, he would have created eight-storey headlines. But you can be certain "Brave Baz" wouldn't have been around to entertain us with his Nick Faldo impersonation at the business end.

As it was, the best part of the first week was that pretty much everything, with the glorious exception of Goran Ivanisevic, was as predictable as a Human Nature lyric. And, given she has now left 10 grand slam events without the big silverware, you can include the first-round defeat of world No1 Martina Hingis in the honour roll of droll.

Even more predictable was Hingis's lack of grace, the Swiss giving credit for her loss to a small back injury when it belonged to a small Spaniard.

There were some early surprises. The sun shone and Sampras revealed his sense of humour. The sun was welcome, but Pete's attempt to yuk it up on court one by asking a ball boy to retrieve a ball which was lodged in his shorts proved something of a clanger. Particularly amongst the more censorious members of the American press, who remembered that his first coach Pete Fisher was a convicted pedophile.

On the other hand, Ivanisevic had everyone rolling in the aisles. Not so much on the court, where the Croat has been unusually focused, but after his matches when his deadpan answers were creating queues outside the interview room.

So dry is Ivanisevic that when he says watching the Teletubbies is part of his pre-match routine, you believe it. Maybe the other personalities he talks about are actually Tinky Winky, Dipsy, Laa-Laa and Po.

Not surprisingly, Australian hopes now rest exclusively with Rafter and Lleyton Hewitt. Given the way he is playing, it is not out of the question that Rafter will become the second Australian called Pat to win the championship wearing a silly headband.

Hewitt, meanwhile, has won three times without losing it once. The combustible kid maintains his critics will have to change because he never will. Yet, while he won't admit it, Hewitt seems restrained when playing on the famous centre court - restrained meaning you don't expect him to decapitate a ball boy at any given moment.

Standing between Hewitt and the prospect of an all-Australian semi-final against Rafter is Andre Agassi, who has created so little fuss he could have played his first three matches wearing a false beard and moustache. Even Agassi's relationship with Steffi Graf has become passé. In the absence of tabloid photographers, Agassi is now the only one pursuing the German.

Jim Courier, here as a commentator for American television, was playing golf with Agassi recently when they started comparing their own grand-slam records to Graf's. Agassi thought Graf had won 18, but rang her on his mobile phone to check. "It's 22," she reminded her housemate, who has just six.

To his lasting credit, Agassi continues to work hard to narrow the gap and is playing well enough to edge a notch closer here.

The first big match of the women's singles features last year's semi-finalists Lindsay Davenport and Jelena Dokic, something that might once have prompted officials to issue an all-points Damir Alert. But despite some very hard yanking of the Dokic chain by the local tabloids, Damir has not registered a single beep on the screwballometer.

Indeed, some are starting to think the six-month ban Damir was forced to serve after a loony outburst at the US Open has had its intended effect. Or are we the tennis versions of the doomed Krakatoans, blithely going about our business? After Jelena's complaints about the transport system and her father's treatment by the press, there is the sound of distant rumblings.

The most abject sight at Wimbledon has been the photographers wearing black armbands to mourn the absence of the injured Anna Pwhoooarrnikova. So desperate were they for back-page fodder, our own Alicia Molik became grist to the page three mill when she wore a dress that was tighter than Kim Beazley's tracky daks.

That was part of the customary frenzy of bad fashion and banality used to disguise the fact that the talent in women's tennis goes about as deep as Danny Devito's bath. The now traditional low point is desperate reporters asking Serena Williams breathless questions about how much she misses her pit-bull terrier Bambi. (Apparently, quite a bit.)

In the real world, Jennifer Capriati's compelling quest for a third successive grand slam title remains the best storyline. That achievement would speak eloquently of the courage of the famously inarticulate Capriati. As she might say, it would be simply, "Like, you know, awesome".

With two Australian contenders, a born-again Damir, Pete 'n' Andre, Goran and the Tellytubbies all still here, this Wimbledon retains the ability to be just that.

rhinds@mail.fairfax.com.au
END
Rafter weathers Russian storm
By LEO SCHLINK
03jul01

PAT Rafter today admitted his Wimbledon title hopes were almost shot after weathering a frenzied opening-set storm from Russian teenager Mikhail Youzhny to reach the quarter-finals.


Third-seeded Rafter overcame a tense start and Youzhny's rifled passing shots to move into the last eight with a demanding 2-6 6-3 6-2 7-5 victory against one of the brightest young talents in the game. 

Former world No. 1 Rafter's triumph – as much mental as physical – propelled the Bermuda-based Queenslander into a quarter-final clash with Swedish 10th seed Thomas Enqvist, who has fallen victim to Rafter six times in eight matches. 

Enqvist, thrashed by Rafter two years ago at Wimbledon, eliminated Argentine Guillermo Canas 6-3 6-3 6-1 and will tomorrow attempt to block the Australian's path towards a third consecutive semi-final appearance. 

Ragged on serve during the first set, Rafter regrouped brilliantly to frustrate Youznhy with an outstanding, sustained serving display in the last three sets – when he did not offer his opponent a break point. 

"He came out on fire and it was a very different pace court out there," Rafter said. "Took me a while to get used to and find out what worked for me. 

"But I still thought I played all right in the first set and just got killed. I thought I was going home, I really did." 

Rafter revealed it was not until late in the second set he was able to relax – and begin to believe he would survive. 

The youngest man to reach the round of 16 this year, 19-year-old Youzhny hammered Rafter's serve from the outset to create two break points in the third game. 

Youzhny saved two break points in the third game of the fourth set and a further three in the fifth game, which stretched to eight deuces before Youzhny held. He finally cracked with a double in the 11th game, allowing Rafter to serve out the match. 

Contesting just the fourth grasscourt event of his short career, Youzhny was ultimately trounced by a high class professional who now boasts 71 victories from 95 matches on grass – 20 of which have combined to deliver Rafter four of his 10 career titles.



Fighting win boosts Rafter's confidence
By LEO SCHLINK in London
04jul01

SPARED after fearing his championship hopes had been dashed, Pat Rafter will today seek to exploit an inviting draw – and a massive psychological advantage over Thomas Enqvist – by pushing to within two victories of the Wimbledon crown.


Reprieved by burgeoning young Russian Mikhail Youzhny, third seed Rafter will carry a commanding 6-2 record into his quarter-final showdown against Australian Open finalist Enqvist along with a resolution not to stray from a successful formula. 

"Just keep doing what I've got to do," Rafter replied when probed over the likely tactics. 

"There's not too many secrets, grasscourt tennis. I don't know how he (Enqvist) has been playing, if he's been serve-volleying or staying back. 

"But Thomas has a very good first serve and quite a good second serve. He's aggressive with it. 

"Probably Thomas's biggest weakness is his movement, he's a big man, a big, strong fellow. 

"Grass is a difficult surface at the best of times to move on. We all find it tough to move on grass and Thomas does as well. That's probably his biggest weakness. 

"But a guy that hits it that hard, sometimes you can't make him run and I've just got to go out there, assess the situation as it goes and hopefully get off to a good start and keep it going from there." 

Former world No. 1 Rafter has not lost to Enqvist since the third round of the 1999 Australian Open where only eventual winner Yevgeny Kafelnikov was able to stop the Swede. Since then, Rafter has twice beaten Enqvist on clay – including victory six weeks ago in Dusseldorf – and, in straight sets, at Wimbledon two years ago. 

But Enqvist is in rare form, having put the cleaners through Guillermo Canas 6-3 6-3 6-1 while Rafter wrestled with 85th-ranked Youzhny 2-6 6-3 6-2 7-5. 

Enqvist is yet to drop a set during the championships and will relish a shot at Rafter if the Queenslander falls short of his usually high standards. 

But Rafter's mindset is ominously relaxed and, inspired by rugby league idol Alfie Langer's State-of-Origin heroics, Rafter is revealingly confident. 

"I do feel reasonably comfortable out there," Rafter said. "I definitely give myself a 50-50 chance against whoever I'm playing. Yeah, I guess I'm quietly confident. But, the guys are good. You've got to be careful." 

Rafter spent much of the first two sets against Youzhny contemplating defeat as the 19-year-old Muscovite found range with a withering backhand return. Rafter momentarily considered the prospect of packing his bags and heading for Bermuda – and then resolved to give Youzhny as good as he was dishing out. 

"My second serve, I was hitting pretty well, but the court was so much slower and wasn't doing what it was doing on Centre Court and court one," he said. 

"I just wasn't getting the reaction off the court. I just decided I've got to hit the crap out of it. You don't have to be Einstein to work that out, I guess. 

"I just tried to take a few more chances, come in a bit more on his second serve, and it worked out." 

For all the risks laid-back Rafter has taken over the first four rounds, when he has absorbed his opponent's best punches before deciding on tactics, he realises there will be no time for such liberties against either prospective semi-final opponent: Andre Agassi or Nicolas Escude. 

"Against the top guys, it's tough to do it. Sometimes when you play a guy like Agassi, you'll change your game and he'll be there ready for it," Rafter said. 

Rafter last season eclipsed Agassi in a superb semi-final, having lost to the American in the corresponding round the previous year. 

Agassi again showed wonderful touch and telling resolve with a 6-3 7-5 7-5 defeat of German 19th seed Nicolas Kiefer, while Escude upset Lleyton Hewitt 4-6 6-4 6-3 4-6 6-4.

Aussies home but not alone

By CHRISTINE MIDDAP
01jul01

IT is Friday night and the quaint English village of Wimbledon is heaving. Crowds spill on to the footpaths from every pub and bar, the restaurants are packed and spirits are high.

Amid the din the unmistakable Australian accent rings out. Young Australians by their thousands are drawn to the two-week party that is Wimbledon.

But for the Australian tennis players who live just minutes from the village, off-court play is strictly off limits.

While their countrymen celebrate until the early hours, Australia's greatest hopes, Lleyton Hewitt and Pat Rafter, live a near-monastic existence.

Bunkered down with their families in rented houses, they emerge only to travel to the courts to play or practice.

Spare time is spent watching tennis, talking tennis or preparing for tennis.

As Rafter noted during the week: "It's strictly business. It's very professional.

"When you first come here, especially for me, I was never really a contender. I'd always enjoy myself in London, go to the pubs. Wouldn't you?"

The Rafter and Hewitt support teams lead an isolated, tennis-obsessed existence.

Hewitt's Emmanuel College mates, brothers Hayden Eckermann, 20, and Jarred, 17, girlfriend Kim Clijsters, 18, and parents Glynn (Hewitt's manager) and Cherilyn, all share a house close to the village. They rarely leave Hewitt's side.

Early in the tournament, they were spotted dining together at the local Italian restaurant, Est, Est, Est. Only occasionally do the Eckermann brothers visit the local pub, The Dog And Fox.

A similar routine is followed in the Rafter household, which is made up of Pat, his girlfriend, model Lara Feltham, and brothers Peter, Rafter's constant companion, and Steve, his business manager.

They accompany him to games and practice sessions and occasionally wander into the village, but they are rarely seen out together.

An avid football fan, Rafter said he planned to spend the morning before yesterday's centre court clash relaxing #&150; and trying not to watch the Test between the Wallabies and Lions.

"I'll try not to watch it. It's like a sex question -- control yourself," Rafter said.

"I don't want to get that pumped up. I don't want to come down if they lose and try to beat the s... out of some English guy."

The minor-seeded Australians are also noticeably absent from the social scene, although in the second week those who stay in London can be spotted in the local pubs.

Former player Mark Woodforde has been occasionally spotted in the village.

Rafter prepares for reality check
By LEO SCHLINK in London
02jul01

PAT Rafter takes to Wimbledon's dreaded graveyard court two tonight against emerging Russian Mikhail Youzhny to discover the true state of his title hopes.

Satisfied after overcoming Daniel Vacek, Slava Dosedel and Hicham Arazi for the loss of just one set and two service breaks, third seed Rafter believed 19-year-old Youzhny would provide a comprehensive insight into the condition of his athletic serve-volleying.

"There are improvements starting to show up in my game," Rafter, a beaten finalist last year, said after defeating Arazi 7-6 (7-3) 6-4 7-5 yesterday.

"I've sort of played some tricky guys, no one really standard yet. Just really haven't got into a rhythm yet.

"I think when I play Youzhny, he's going to be a bit more of a standard type of player. He'll really test me to see how I'm playing. If I'm off, he'll beat me. If I'm playing well, then my game will be in good touch for the rest of the week.

"I'm just really happy with the way I'm serving. If you're going to win this tournament, you're going to have to serve well."

Desperate to add a third major to his two US Open crowns, Rafter took time off last night to watch a telecast of the Queensland-New South Wales rugby league Origin showdown at a friend's house with 30 fellow Australians before watching the annual Australia-South Africa tennis players' cricket match.

Relaxed and confident, Rafter has no fears of bumpy court two's reputation as a seeded player's graveyard ¨C Yevgeny Kafelnikov is its latest victim ¨C but he is wary of Youzhny.

"I do know that he serves pretty well, pretty flat," Rafter said. "Pretty good second serve, stays back all the time and probably a pretty good counter-puncher. But if I serve the way I did against Arazi, I'll be feeling pretty confident of getting chances on his serve."

Rafter's ability to break serve is the most underrated aspect of his game, but he has broken serve on 10 occasions in three matches so far.

It is a statistic he hopes to improve as the second week rolls on, doubtless aware he is again on the brink of another substantial performance at the majors.

Rafter has never played 85th-ranked Youzhny, but the Queenslander is aware of the youngster's high rating.

Regarded as the next best Russian behind Marat Safin and Kafelnikov, Youzhny has claimed an impressive list of scalps in the first week, few better than last year's semi-finalist and 16th seed Vladimir Voltchkov in the first round.

Since then, Youzhny has added Frenchman Anthony Dupuis and 20th seed Fabrice Santoro who retired with a leg injury when trailing 7-5 6-0 2-0.

If Rafter can overcome Youzhny, he will play either Swedish 10th seed Thomas Enqvist or Argentine Guillermo Canas, who belies his claycourter tag with adept showings on grass.

Beyond that could be Lleyton Hewitt, who Rafter believes is yet to overcome Wimbledon's aura, or Andre Agassi.

Enqvist, a former junior Wimbledon champion, is into the fourth round at the All-England Club for only the second time in his career following a straight-sets whipping of Zimbabwean Wayne Black, while Canas is into the last 16 for the first time after upsetting wasteful Kafelnikov.

Kafelnikov led the third set 3-0 and served for the fourth set at 5-4 (30-15) ¨C and made three double faults.

By reaching the Rosmalen final, where he lost to Hewitt, and the French Open fourth round, Canas has surged from 227th on the entry system rankings to No. 49.

Kafelnikov admitted to assuming he was already in the fourth round before facing Canas, a diabolical miscalculation.

"It is the pressure," he conceded. "Knowing that the draw on your side is wide open and on paper you are the favourite to go through to a certain part in the tournament, which was the quarter-finals."


Rafter and Hewitt in good form
By Patrick Miles
July 02, 2001

THE stage is set for a tantalising fourth round of the men's singles tonight (AEST), with Lleyton Hewitt and Pat Rafter well established to advance after contrasting rounds.

Twelve seeds, including the two Australians, and four outsiders will do battle for places in the quarter-finals.

Hewitt, the No. 5 seed, takes on France's Nicolas Escude, the 24th seed, while Rafter, seeded at No. 3, meets Russia's Mikhail Youzhny, ranked at No. 85 in the world.

Hewitt posted his best performance at Wimbledon by defeating Younes El Aynaoui 7-5 5-7 6-4 7-6 and Rafter swept aside another Moroccan, Hicham Arazi, 7-6 6-4 7-5.

The Davis Cup team-mates are expected to take another step tonight in their quest to become the first Australian champion since Pat Cash in 1987 to win the title.

Victory for Hewitt in the round of 16 would most likely bring on the formidable form of Andre Agassi, of the US, while Rafter's projected quarter-final opponent is Sweden's Thomas Enqvist.

Rafter, who lost last year's final to Pete Sampras, is the better placed to make another charge to the championship match, where there is the possibility of another clash with the American.

But the 28-year-old, for whom there is a strong chance this will be his last Wimbledon, could meet Hewitt in the semi-final if the 20-year-old can overcome Agassi.

It is not beyond Hewitt, especially considering where he has been of late.

Hewitt, who won back-to-back titles on grass in the fortnight before Wimbledon, has had a testing variety of opponents during the past three weeks.

He has beaten, in chronological order, Greg Rusedski, Sampras, Tim Henman, Goran Ivanisevic, Roger Federer and Guillermo Canas at Queen's and Rosmalen. These six will all feature in the round of 16 at Wimbledon tonight.

To reach the fourth round, Hewitt, whose previous best showing was the third round in 1999, has had to find a way past a trio of tricky players ¨C Magnus Gustafsson, Taylor Dent and El Ayanoui.

"It's great to make it through to the second week," Hewitt said. "It's fantastic, especially with a lot of expectation on your shoulders, as well, coming into it.

"It feels good but I'm going to have to step it up another gear to get to the quarters."

Maintaining his winning streak, which stands at 13, Hewitt could be forgiven for feeling the pinch at this stage of a grand slam. "I feel like I've got a lot of energy," he said. "Playing on grass, it doesn't take as much out of you as playing on clay or a hard court.

"I feel pretty good. I get a rest after this. I've got to go for broke for one week now."

Rafter believes that the younger man needs to improve before he can stake a genuine claim on a first grand slam title.

"He's doing it the hard way," Rafter said. "He's still not comfortable out there. But he's such a great little competitor that he knows how to win.

"I am happy because I've been saying it for the last couple of years that he's going to do something here. He's finally working his way in there. But I think he needs to lift his game a little bit."

Rafter has defeated Daniel Vacek, Slava Dosedel and Arazi for the loss of just one set to reach the fourth round for the sixth time in as many years.

"It just gets tougher from now," he said. "But there are improvements starting to show up in my game.

"I have played some tricky guys ¨C no-one really standard yet. When I play Youzhny, he's going to be a bit more of a standard type of player. He'll really test to see how I'm playing. If I'm off, he'll beat me. If I'm playing well, then my game will be in good touch for the rest of the week."